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When Alec first met Magnus Bane, world-renowned fashion designer, model, and celebrity, he hadn't really noticed who he was. They'd met in the dark and sweaty atmosphere of a party, by the bar. Magnus had offered to buy Alec a drink. Alec's siblings had disappeared into the crowd three hours ago, so he'd seen no reason to decline.
It wasn't until Magnus introduced himself that Alec choked on his cocktail and took another look at the guy. He'd spent several seconds wondering why the fuck Magnus Bane was talking to him, buying him a drink, flirting with him, when he could probably pick up any man or woman in the room.
And yet, somehow, more than a year later, he was standing in Magnus' penthouse (which, technically, was now Magnus' and his penthouse), having just come out of Magnus' shower, watching his boyfriend pack for an impromptu business trip to Los Angeles. Business, as it so often did, meaning an exceedingly high-profile TV interview.
Alec had been planning a date. He'd been planning to take Magnus to the pretty little restaurant that had opened up two months ago that he knew his boyfriend had had his eye on. He'd also been saving for it, because fuck, it was expensive, and being a police officer only paid him so much.
Magnus might have been a twenty-six-year-old self-made millionaire, but Alec wasn't. And he liked being able to take Magnus out somewhere nice with his own money sometimes.
This business trip completely ruined all of Alec's plans. And he'd planned everything. Right down to making reservations weeks ago, because people were all over the place, and making sure they got a table where the ever-present paparazzi wouldn't be able to get.
The pap was the downside to dating Magnus. Alec hated them nearly as much as he loved Magnus.
"Are you alright, darling?" Magnus asked, looking up from his suitcase with concerned eyes, long tan fingers pausing in their movements.
Alec shrugged where he was leaning against the wall, pretending to be texting Jace. In reality, he'd just cancelled their reservations, and was feeling moody. This wasn't the first time Magnus had had to disappear without warning.
"Of course," Alec said, not glancing up from his phone.
It wasn't fair to be angry. This was Magnus' job, and he loved his job. Alec loved Magnus, so he supported him. Alec had to go off on an urgent call sometimes himself. Besides, Magnus didn't know that he'd been planning anything. It wasn't his fault. It just happened so often, and Alec missed him when he was gone. But he couldn't be Magnus' priority. Not when what he did was so important to him.
"I won't be back until Monday, late," Magnus said.
That made Alec look at him. "Monday? Magnus, that's nearly a week. How can one interview take a week?"
"Well, it's not just one interview. As they're dragging me away to LA anyway, I thought I could meet..."
Alec didn't want to know who Magnus was going to meet, 'as he was there anyway'. He tuned it out.
"Hey." He felt Magnus' hand on his face. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine." He managed a smile, and he hoped to hell that it looked genuine. "Don't you need to go? You're going to miss your flight."
Magnus pursed his lips. "I do." He pressed a kiss to Alec's lips. "I love you, Alexander. I'll call you when I get to my hotel. I promise."
Alec's smile really was genuine this time, because Magnus always took the time to give him a vivid description of wherever he was staying. It made Alec ache to be with him, so, so much, but he appreciated Magnus doing it.
"Go on," he said. "I love you too. Be safe."
Magnus was already dashing out the door, and he didn't look back as he said, "Don't forget to feed Chairman Meow!"
The door slammed shut. Alec slumped back against the wall, and resigned himself to spending five nights alone in Magnus' penthouse, which felt uncomfortably large when the sparkling man wasn't there.
***
It had taken nearly three months for Alec to be able to get a table at The Mortal Instruments restaurant at a time when Magnus was free and he didn't have to work a late shift, but, finally, he'd managed it, and the look on Magnus' face when they'd pulled up outside had almost made all the stress and frustration worth it.
Alec was laughing, Magnus telling a vivid story of an insane client who'd come to him for a suit fitting early in his career, before it had kicked off and he'd shot to fame. He was waving his hands animatedly, rings glistening and casting colours across the smart white tablecloth, and god, Magnus Bane was beautiful.
"Thank you for taking me here," Magnus said softly, covering Alec's hand with his own across the table.
Alec smiled at him. "You're welcome. I know you're used to places like this, but—"
"Alec." Magnus shook his head and squeezed his hand. "I've wanted to eat here since it opened up. Besides, you being anywhere with me always makes the place more special."
Alec flushed in the low lighting. "I know you wanted to come," he said, rather than trying to come up with a smooth response to Magnus' comment. "There isn't much I can give you that you can't get perfectly easily yourself, but—"
"Now you're bing silly." Magnus picked up his hand and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. "Money and fame couldn't have bought me you, and it couldn't have—"
A smooth, female voice interrupted. "Mr Bane? Magnus?"
Alec stiffened. The owner of that voice had caused Magnus and Alec's only big argument. He still wasn't quite sure what, exactly, Camille Belcourt did for a living, but he knew it had something to do with the modelling industry. He'd come home one day to hear her giggling and flirting in their living room, and when he'd glanced in, she'd had her hand on Magnus' chest, was placing a kiss on his cheek, and nothing could have stopped the jealousy and rage that shot through him.
Now, it seemed, Camille was intent on ruining their dinner date, and interrupting Magnus right when he was about to say something that might have eased Alec's continual insecurities. He never told Magnus about his worries, of course, which was probably half the problem.
Alec was a police officer. He didn't have much problem with telling people to fuck off anymore. He might have done, when he was nineteen and just qualifying, but not anymore.
He opened his mouth to do just that. He didn't particularly care who this woman was. She'd nearly made him break up with the love of his life once. He wasn't going to be polite to her.
"Miss Belcourt, please—"
"Camille. I didn't expect to see you here."
Alec's eyes snapped back to Magnus at the tone of his voice. All professionalism and welcome and smiles. He was smiling at this vulture of a woman.
Camille's red lips turned up, and she fluttered her eyelashes. "Nor I, you. How're things, Magnus?"
Alec slid his hand out from under Magnus'. Magnus looked over at him as he stood up, and he nodded towards the bathroom in explanation. His boyfriend didn't question it, and instead turned his attention back to Camille.
Alec took his time. He splashed cold water over his face, noticing that his hands were shaking just a little. Fucking hell, he needed to pull himself together. Magnus was talking to someone who worked in his industry. So what? Sure, they were on a date, but that was what people did when they ran into people they knew: they talked to them. He was just blowing it out of proportion because he didn't like Camille.
He tried to appear casual as he walked back to their table, but when he saw that Camille had taken his seat, he froze, eyes swivelling to Magnus, who looked entirely untroubled.
Alec swallowed. What did he do now? They were clearly deep in conversation about things that, however hard he tried, he couldn't understand, and it wasn't like he could just demand that Camille give him his seat back. Well. He could. But she wouldn't be very happy about that.
So he just stood there, froze in place, watching events unfold. The waiter had returned to their table, and Alec realised too late that they'd asked for the tab before Camille had shown up, and he'd planned on paying—he'd been desperate to pay, because Magnus was always paying, for everything, and once, just once, he wanted to feel like he wasn't completely useless.
He started forward, walking quickly around tables to get back to his boyfriend. But by the time he'd politely negotiated his way around an elderly couple, Magnus had handed over that stupid black credit card of his and was punching in his PIN number.
Alec cursed himself.
Camille looked up at him, and shot him the kind of sickly smile that reminded him that she didn't seem to like him very much, either.
"It was lovely seeing you, Magnus," she said, placing her hand on his forearm. "We must catch up properly sometime."
Alec had had enough. "Excuse me," he said bluntly. "We're leaving, and I need my jacket." And that is my boyfriend, so get your skanky hands off him.
Magnus turned to frown up at him. "You haven't finished your wine, and it's only—"
"I don't want it." He clenched his jaw, trying not to outright glare at Camille. "Please move. I want to get my things."
Camille's smile didn't change. "Of course. I apologise." She rose gracefully. "Again, lovely to see you, Magnus."
With that, she swept off, throwing Alec a smirk over her shoulder.
Alec shrugged his jacket on, feeling his wallet heavy in his pocket. Jesus Christ, he couldn't even do a dinner date right. He was supposed to pay. He'd organised this, he'd taken Magnus here, he'd surprised him. How had he managed to screw up something so simple as paying the tab?
"Alec, what in the name of god was that about?" Magnus sounded astounded.
"Nothing. Come on, let's go."
"You really don't want the wine?"
"No, Magnus. I've got to drive."
"Which is why you only got one glass, but you haven't even finished that. Alec—"
"You dropped your scarf," Alec said, bending down to pick it up off the floor where it had fallen. He frowned when he saw it. It didn't look like one of Magnus'. Had Magnus even been wearing a scarf earlier? Was he so useless he couldn't even remember what his boyfriend was wearing? "Wait. Is this yours?"
"Ah, no." Magnus held out a hand for it. "I think it's Camille's. I can give it back to her when—"
"We can leave it with the restaurant," Alec said, snatching it out of Magnus' hand. "I'll meet you outside."
Magnus' hand caught his wrist, forcing him to meet Magnus' gaze. He looked a little bit angry. He probably had every right to be angry. Alec just wanted to go home and sleep.
"What the hell is wrong with you tonight?" Magnus demanded. "Why are you acting like this?"
"Like what?" He yanked himself out of Magnus' grip.
"Like- like- Not like you. What's going on? We've had a lovely time. It seems like ages since we went on a date like this, and it's been wonderful. I don't understand why you just ordered Camille out—"
Alec rolled his eyes. "Pardon me if I interrupted your reunion. I was under the impression that I was the one taking you out on this date."
Magnus opened his mouth, then closed it again. He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "You went to the bathroom, sweetheart. Besides, she's a good person to be friendly with. She's getting big in this business."
Alec felt bitter. "She certainly wants to be friendly," he muttered, too quietly for Magnus to hear.
"What was that?"
"Nothing." Alec rubbed a hand across his eyes, feeling suddenly exhausted. "Nothing. I'm sorry, I'm overreacting. I'm stressed out about this murder case. Can we please just go home?"
"Of course." Magnus smiled, stood up, and leant in to whisper, "Maybe I can help you to relax, hm?"
After seeing Camille, he really wasn't in the mood. He flashed Magnus a weak smile. "Maybe."
***
"Hey, darling," Magnus greeted him as Alec opened the front door of his parents' house.
"Hey."
Alec stepped out onto his parents' porch, pulled the door to behind him, and wrapped his arms around Magnus' neck. He buried his face in his neck and inhaled, snuggling into Magnus' embrace, revelling in the feeling of his boyfriend's arms tight and warm around him.
"I missed you," Alec mumbled.
Magnus chuckled. "I was only gone for one night."
"Felt like longer. I don't like sleeping alone."
Magnus pressed a kiss to his temple. "I'm sorry. Neither do I."
Magnus made to pull away, but Alec held tight, loathe to let him go. True, Magnus had only been away one night, but over the past month he'd been working so much and so late that he felt like they'd barely seen each other. It was a miracle, really, that Magnus had agreed to come to Sunday lunch at his parents' place. He never usually managed it.
"Alec," Magnus murmured. "Much as I want to stand here all day, I don't want your dad to kill me."
Alec made an irritated sound in the back of his throat. "If he still has a problem with us, he knows where he can shove his opinion."
Magnus snickered, pressing kisses against Alec's neck. "He's trying."
"True. After five years of unrelenting homophobia, I guess this is progress."
Magnus' hold on him tightened at Alec's words. "I love you."
"I know." He pulled back to kiss Magnus' lips, keeping it quick to avoid making anyone glancing out at them uncomfortable. "I love you too. Come on. Let's go see whether Izzy's burnt the house down yet."
Magnus smiled. "I love your sister, but I'm never getting over that casserole she tried to feed me."
Alec grinned at him as they walked back inside. "I warned you. Jace warned you. Simon warned you, and he's her boyfriend. You should have listened. It's your own fault."
"I didn't know casserole could taste so bad!"
"That better not be my casserole you're talking about," Isabelle said, waltzing out of the kitchen, long black hair loose around her face. She had her hands on her hips, and she looked so like their mother that for a moment Alec had to hold back an astounded laugh.
Magnus smiled at her. "Of course not, my dear Isabelle."
Isabelle narrowed her eyes at him. "You might design the most beautiful clothes on the planet, but I'll still kick you if you're rude about my cooking."
"Duly noted," Magnus replied, moving to drape his arm around Alec's waist. "Where are your delightful brothers?"
"Max is upstairs," Izzy said, "and Jace is in there. You're late, by the way."
Magnus' smile became a little strained. "I'm sorry. This week has been busier than I'd expected. A lot busier."
Isabelle waved a hand. "It's fine. I was just messing with you. Now come on. Mom wants to interrogate you about why you were caught fighting, Alec. On camera." She smirked at him over her shoulder as she turned on her heel to head back into the kitchen.
Of course his mother had read about that. Someone had thought it would be a good idea to grope Magnus while they were walking down the street one evening. Alec had been furious. He couldn't help punching the guy in the face when he'd made a revolting comment about Magnus' ass to his friends. Typically, the paparazzi had made up some ludicrous story about ex-boyfriends and competition, and Alec was sick of it.
Alec sighed heavily. "I'm beginning to wish I hadn't done that."
"You defended my honour," Magnus said, and kissed his cheek. "It was more than a little bit hot, darling."
"You could do something to deny all these rumours," Alec muttered.
"Rumours keep people talking. Talking is good for business. Now, let's go and talk to your parents, hm?"
Alec sighed again. Why hadn't he thought about that? Why had he even asked? If Magnus hadn't had good reason for not dispelling those rumours, he'd have done it already.
He hung back with Jace as his mother and father greeted Magnus. Magnus' manners were impeccable, as they always were around Alec's parents, and when Maryse asked him about the story that had circulated around the media over the last week, Magnus assured her that the media had got it all wrong.
Alec's mother began taking things out of the oven, ordering Jace and Alec to get up and set the table. Jace rolled his eyes, but did as he was told, because whatever he claimed, he was terrified of incurring Maryse's wrath.
"You like potato salad, right, Magnus?" Isabelle asked as she brought a large bowl over to the table.
Alec huffed internally. He'd told his family that Magnus would eat quite literally anything that was put in front of him, but Isabelle was convinced he just hadn't known whether or not Magnus liked all these things. She had such little faith in him, it was insulting.
Alec glanced up when Magnus didn't reply. He was looking at his phone, brows drawn together. Alec set down the plates he was holding.
"Magnus?" he prompted.
"What?" Magnus looked up at him.
"Do you like potato salad?" Isabelle asked. "Because Alec said you did, but I know what he's like, and—"
"Yes," Magnus said slowly, "I do. But I'm not staying for lunch."
Alec dropped the glass he was holding. Every head in the room whipped round to stare at him as the glass shattered, shards going everywhere. Flushing, he shouldered past Isabelle to the cupboard to grab a dustpan, mind reeling.
"Let me," Clary, Jace's girlfriend of three years, said quietly, taking it from him and bending down to sweep up the broken glass.
Alec turned to Magnus, aware of everyone looking at him. "What do you mean, you're not staying for lunch?"
"I never said I was staying for lunch, Alec," Magnus said.
"Yes, you did."
"No, you asked me if I'd come here with you today, and I said yes."
Alec threw his hands up. "What the hell am I supposed to get from that? You've only been here half an hour!"
Magnus ran a hand through his hair in clear agitation. "I'm sorry, I didn't realise you'd think I meant I was staying. Normally I'd make time, but today is just—"
"No, Magnus, you wouldn't." Alec swallowed. He was doing it again. This wasn't Magnus' fault. He should have clarified. He'd misunderstood. That wasn't anybody's fault. He needed to calm down. He sucked in a deep breath. "I'll see you tonight, then."
Magnus stared at him. "Alec—"
"If you need to go so badly, go." Alec's voice wavered a little.
Magnus didn't seem to notice. Which hurt, because Magnus usually noticed when he was upset. Or maybe he was just ignoring it, because he didn't want to deal with Alec overreacting, again.
Magnus' goodbyes were somewhat awkward. The kitchen was silent as they watched him walk out, glancing back at Alec as he did. The sound of the front door slamming made Alec flinch. He felt Isabelle's hand on his arm, gently, and she sounded concerned when she spoke.
"Alec, it's okay, nobody minds. It happens. Magnus is a busy man."
Alec shrugged her off. "Yeah. He is."
And he walked out of the kitchen, upstairs, and shut his old bedroom door firmly behind him, because he couldn't bear to be in there any longer. Once - just once - could Magnus not find the time to spend two hours with him and his family, uninterrupted?
***
Alec chewed down on his lower lip, glancing down at his phone for what felt like the hundredth time in the last ten minutes as he sat in Magnus and his favourite café. Taki's was a little hole-in-the-wall sort of place, out of the view of the paparazzi, full of famous faces and their friends and family and people who simply didn't care. Anybody who made a fuss of the celebrities who sometimes frequented the place were thrown out.
After the disastrous not-lunch at Alec's parents' house, the both of them had apologised, and spent the entire night wrapped up in each other, hot and sweaty and moaning. Alec had felt oddly empty, and hadn't really slept that night.
But both of them had managed to get a Friday afternoon off, and so Alec had suggested they get a late lunch at Taki's. Neither of them had to work at the weekend, either, so Alec was feeling optimistic about the coming few days.
Unfortunately, Magnus was fifteen minutes late. Most probably, he'd just been held up at work by an unexpected phone call or a difficult client. Most probably, Alec was worrying unnecessarily. Most probably, Magnus would walk through the door any minute, looking a little bit frazzled beneath his perfectly fashion sense and make-up.
Alec ordered a coffee, because he was starving. He hadn't had lunch because he knew he was coming here with Magnus. All he'd had since breakfast, eight hours ago, was a protein bar.
"Do you want to order something to eat?" the waitress asked.
"Not yet. I'm waiting for someone."
Half an hour after they were supposed to meet, Alec sent Magnus a text asking if everything was okay.
Fifteen minutes after that, he'd finished his coffee, and Magnus still hadn't replied. He wanted to call him, but he didn't want to seem clingy. Nor did he want to bother him if he was in the middle of something important.
He'd been sitting in there for an hour and a half when his phone rang, Magnus' name flashing up below his picture.
"Alec," Magnus said as soon as he picked up, not giving Alec time to speak. "I'm sorry, darling, but I'm not going to make it to Taki's. I didn't expect this, but I've got two clients, and they're important, so I can't leave yet."
"It's okay," Alec said, quietly, even though it really wasn't. Magnus' job was important. His clients were important. But, just sometimes, shouldn't Alec be important, too? He'd taken the afternoon off work, to spend time with Magnus, and all he'd done was sit in Taki's on his own. "I'll see you later, then."
"I'll pick up some take-out on my way home, okay? I love you."
Alec's throat felt tight.
"I love you too," he said.
There was a pause on the other end, and Alec's heart thudded. Magnus would usually have hung up by now. If he was pressed for time, he didn't linger. Alec understood. He was the same, if he was in the middle of a difficult case. This was no different.
"Sweetheart, are you alright?" Magnus asked, concerned and gentle.
Alec swallowed. "I'm fine," he lied, and hung up before Magnus could start to cross-examine him. He was embarrassed enough at having to leave after being stood up. He didn't need the staff feeling any more sorry for him.
***
Alec was cooking. Which, really, wasn't a particularly big event. Ever since Magnus had told him about growing up in Indonesia, before his parents had died, Alec had professed an interest in Magnus' native cuisine. Magnus had been an apt, although sometimes very distracting, teacher.
Magnus was currently sitting in the living room, Alec having kicked him out of the kitchen because he was more interested in kissing than getting the meal cooked. Ordinarily, Alec would have been perfectly on board with it, but he didn't want to fuck up Magnus' favourite meal.
It was nearly done, Alec just finishing up the rice, when he heard Magnus' voice from the other room.
"Why does this need me? Ask Catarina to deal with it," he was saying, voice rising in volume. "Yes, but—" He paused. "That does complicate things. Alright. Thank you."
Alec's shoulders were already tense when he heard Magnus padding into the kitchen. A hand rested on his forearm. He swallowed, choosing to ignore Magnus while he drained the rice, pretending he didn't know what was coming.
"I have to go, Alec," Magnus said. "I'm sorry."
He didn't turn round. "How long will you be?"
"I don't know. Don't wait up for me."
Alec did look round at him at that, feeling his face fall even further. "That long?"
"I'm sorry," Magnus said again. "There's a legal issue to do with this month's finances and that project we did in Florida, and Catarina is off sick so they've called in a temp, but obviously they weren't involved with the project, so they need me there too. I'll see you later."
Alec ate slowly on his own, TV on, paying no attention to what was on the screen. He put what should have been Magnus' portion in the fridge, even though it never kept very well, and would probably end up going to waste.
No. That wasn't fair. They both had to run out on each other, occasionally. They had erratic jobs. They didn't throw each other's food away. At least, hardly ever.
Magnus just seemed to be running out on him a hell of a lot, recently.
Alec was exhausted. That was probably why he was overreacting so much, and being so irrational. They'd had a murder case that'd been going on for a couple of weeks, and it wasn't going well. He'd been working long, hard hours, and they were hardly getting anywhere.
The TV was still on when Chairman Meow jumped up onto the sofa beside him, nudging his head into Alec's hand. Alec smiled at the tiny little tabby cat that Magnus had had all the time Alec had known him, and stroked a hand over his head. The cat meowed, blinking wide, pitiful eyes up at him, tilting his head into Alec's ministrations.
"I know," he said, sighing softly as he stroked the small cat rhythmically. "It shouldn't be a big deal, right? It's not his fault that he's been busy this month. He has to go away sometimes. He didn't know I'd been planning a date. And we rearranged. It was okay." He laughed bitterly. "Not that it really went well. At all. Guess who turned up, Chairman? Fucking Camille. God, I hate that woman, and she turned up and ruined our date by sitting there fluttering her goddamn eyelashes at Magnus. Oh, and she sat in my seat when I went to the bathroom to calm down enough to not kill her. And then I couldn't even pay the cheque."
Chairman Meow was staring up at him. He'd curled up on Alec's thighs, head pillowed on his paws, but he wasn't going to sleep. God, what had his life come to? Talking about his relationship problems to his boyfriend's cat?
"And then he seems intent on embarrassing me this week," Alec continued. "First at my parents', which was awful, because Mom was so pleased that he was finally coming to stay for a while. That was my fault for not communicating properly, though. I don't know why I'm angry about that. It's stupid. But then Taki's! That wasn't my fault, was it? I spent an afternoon off waiting for him like some kind of sad, desperate idiot, and I got stood up. But it wasn't his fault either."
Alec didn't hear the creak of the living room door as Chairman Meow chose that moment to purr again, loudly, rubbing against Alec's hand to prompt him back into stroking. Alec obliged.
"His job's important to him, Chairman. It's not his fault that's it's demanding, or that he's a high profile guy. God, why am I dating a celebrity? Why did I fall in love with a celebrity? And one who's not addicted to anything and actually seems to care about his work." He sighed again, and looked mournfully over at the remains of dinner. "That food actually turned out really well, too. Magnus is going to end up eating it at some ridiculous hour, if he eats it at all. I just wanted one night in. One night to sit here with him and be in love. Instead I'm sitting here talking to a cat." He laughed bitterly. "I should talk to him, right? Except it's so stupid, and it's so not his fault. I can't expect to be his priority all the time. His job is his priority, and that's fine. There's nothing wrong with that. I just...I miss him."
Alec let his head flop back against the arm of the sofa, and he closed his eyes. Really, all he wanted was to curl up with Magnus right here and listen to his heartbeat and feel his breaths. But if he had to deal with some legal issue, he'd probably be busy all weekend, and so Alec would hardly see him, again, and he had to go away himself for a few days...
It was with that thought that Alec fell asleep, too exhausted and upset to stay awake any longer.
***
Magnus' knuckles had gone white where he gripped at the doorframe, listening to Alec talk quietly. He'd managed to get home earlier than he'd expected when Catarina had turned up, with a hacking cough and barely able to talk, but determined to deal with the issue efficiently. She'd simplified it for him, laid out his options, and told him to make up his mind and go home.
He hadn't needed telling twice.
When he got through the door, for a moment he'd thought that Alec was with someone else. Isabelle or Jace, maybe. But then he'd peered round the door, as quietly as he could, and seen that he was sprawled on the sofa, Chairman Meow situated on his lap.
And what he'd heard... God, how could he have been so inconsiderate? True, he hadn't known that Alec had been planning to take him out when he'd suddenly been called away for an interview across the country, but everything else...
He should have deal with everything else so much better. Camille interrupting their date? That was a no-brainer. He'd thought Alec was past the argument they'd had over her, but he'd known she was flirting with him, and of course that would upset Alec. Alec had to know that Magnus would never, ever do anything, or return her advances, but why hadn't he just politely told her that they were busy, and that they could talk another time?
Disappearing on him at his parents' hadn't been kind, either. He'd been so wrapped up in the project he was trying to get done that he hadn't noticed how upset his boyfriend had looked, but now, thinking back... And that afternoon at Taki's was plain awful. Alec couldn't afford to have more than his designated four weeks off work a year for fear of being fired, and Magnus had wasted a day of that without a thought. He'd embarrassed Alec. Alec was an easily-embarrassed person anyway, and even he'd have felt self-conscious about being stood up.
He had been a terrible, terrible boyfriend, and he absolutely had to make it right.
Looking round the doorframe again, he saw that Alec's head had turned sideways, his chest rising and falling steadily. He was asleep, it seemed.
He couldn't fix everything tonight. Alec was clearly exhausted, anyway, if he'd fallen asleep like that. But he wasn't going to leave his boyfriend sleeping on the sofa. He was going to carry him to bed, and tomorrow, he'd—
Wait. No. Tomorrow it was Alec who had to leave. He was only going to Chicago, admittedly, whereas Magnus' business trips frequently took him across the world, but that delayed Magnus' plans to prove to Alec that he wasn't a complete asshole.
He approached the sofa quietly, and reached out a hand to run his fingers through Alec's hair. The Chairman meowed quietly and leapt off Alec, tail high in the air, disappearing from the room.
"Sweetheart," Magnus said softly. "Wake up, Alec."
"Mm." Alec groaned a little. "Mags? What time is it?"
"Just after ten," he said. "Come on. Let's get you to bed."
Alec made a grumblings noise, and Magnus smiled. Adorable. He reached down, carefully, and lifted Alec into his arms. Alec's eyes went wide, and he clutched onto Magnus' shoulders.
"What are you doing?" he demanded. "You don't do the carrying in this relationship."
Magnus laughed a little, shouldering open their bedroom door. "I'm a very versatile person. I'm not very good at staying in boxes."
"Don't I know it," Alec muttered.
Magnus deposited him gently on the bed and began to undress him, pushing his shirt off his shoulders and tugging his jeans off his long legs. Alec yawned when Magnus finished and told him to get into bed, snuggling into the sheets, burying his face in his pillow.
Magnus slid in next to him. He wrapped an arm around Alec's waist and pulled him close, pressing soft kisses to his neck.
"I love you, Alexander," Magnus whispered. "You know that, don't you?"
"Of course. I love you too."
There was a pause.
"Magnus?"
"Yes, darling?"
"Are you still going to San Fransisco next week?"
Oh, goddammit. He was supposed to leave to see a fashion show by an up-and-coming young London designer. Ordinarily, it would he have the kind of thing he'd enjoy seeing. Three days in California, watching what he loved without the stress of running the show himself. But he was due to leave the day before Alec returned.
He had some cancelling to do.
"I don't know," Magnus said, deciding to be honest.
Alec sighed. "Goodnight, Magnus."
"Goodnight, darling."
***
In the end, it hadn't been all that difficult to make his excuses and cancel his trip. Cancelling also meant that he had a much lighter workload for the week, and could get some mundane tasks done before Alec came home.
He didn't like being away from Alec for extended periods of time. It'd been a while since Alec had had to go out of state for work, but, apparently, this murder investigation was getting much bigger than they'd expected.
Two hours before Alec was due home, Magnus put an out of office notice on his emails, and then turned off his notifications for anything but texts.
An hour later, he was sliding lasagne into the oven and wiping down the work surfaces, because that was Alec's favourite, and Alec hated it when the kitchen was messy.
[From: Alexander <3 at 17:32]
Just landed. Hope San Fran is fun xx
Magnus smiled. He hadn't told Alec that he'd cancelled his trip. Partly because, when Alec had left, he hadn't been certain he'd be able to, and partly because, when it was a definite thing, he'd decided that he wanted to surprise Alec. It wasn't often that he got the chance to.
[From: Magnus at 17:33]
Never as fun as being with you xxx
[From: Alexander <3 at 17:33]
I'm sure you're supposed to be working not flirting
[From: Magnus at 17:34]
Maybe ;) I'll talk to you later x
Alec didn't reply after that, so Magnus presumed he was suitably convinced that Magnus was working hard over in California, not cooking his favourite meal in their kitchen. He smiled to himself. It was all going precisely to plan.
He busied himself over the next half an hour by showering and changing into something simultaneously fabulous and colourful and comfy, because Alec seemed to prefer it when he wasn't dressed to the nines. He kept his make-up light, and forced himself to ignore the array of hair products in his collection. Alec definitely preferred it when he could touch his hair freely.
A key slid in the lock fifteen minutes earlier than Magnus expected it to. His heart thudded where he stood in their bedroom as he heard the door open and then close again. The keys jangled as Alec dropped them on the cabinet, followed by the thump that could only be him putting his rucksack on the floor.
"Hey, Chairman," Alec said, and god, Magnus had missed hearing his voice. "Did Clary come to feed you yesterday? Were you lonely without anyone here?"
There was an extortionate amount of purring and meowing, and Magnus rolled his eyes. Traitor. The Chairman was never that excited to see him when he came home. He just curled round his legs and demanded to be stroked, then disappeared.
Possibly that was because Alec fed him most days.
There was a sigh from the hallway. "Well, just you and me for a few days, cat. Three nights. I can make it through three more nights."
That, Magnus decided, was as good a moment as any to make his presence known. He rounded the corner, and took a split second to smile at the way Alec was crouched down, sitting back on his ankles, stroking between Chairman Meow's ears.
"You don't need to make it through three more nights, my love," Magnus said.
Alec's head snapped up, his eyes wide, hand stilling in its movements through the cat's fur. He stared for a moment, lips parting as he took in Magnus in front of him, eyes sweeping up and down as though he couldn't believe what he was doing.
"Magnus? What are you doing here?"
"I live here," he said, lips quirking up. "And my beautiful boyfriend was coming home today, so I had to be here to say hello."
"But- But you're in San Fransisco! You said— You were going to see some show, and you said you were there literally an hour ago! You can't— How—"
Magnus chuckled. "No, I just didn't disagree when you said I was there. I cancelled the trip the day after you left. Surprise, baby."
Alec straightened up, nudging Chairman Meow away with his foot as the cat tried to be an attention-whore, again.
"I can't believe you're here," Alec said, smiling now.
"Welcome home, Alec." Magnus opened his arms for a hug, and Alec rushed towards him as though some tidal force was pushing him forwards. Magnus enveloped Alec in a tight hug, burying his face in the crook of Alec's neck. God, he'd missed him. He always missed Alec, even when all that separated them was a standard day of work. And after what he'd heard Alec confessing...he wanted to hold him even more tightly.
"Missed you," Alec mumbled into his shoulder, as though he'd read Magnus' mind.
"I missed you too," Magnus said, kissing his jaw.
"But—" Alec pulled away a little to look at him. "I don't understand. Why did you cancel your trip? Is everything okay?"
"Absolutely perfect," Magnus said, brushing back a strand of Alec's hair from his forehead. "I cancelled because I couldn't go nearly two weeks without seeing you."
"It would have been ten days," Alec said.
"That's too long. And also..." His voice turned serious. "I heard what you said, the night before you left."
Alec looked confused. "What? What did I say? W— Oh." He looked uncomfortable as realisation flashed through his eyes. He looked away from Magnus. "Oh. That."
"Alec—"
"I'm sorry," Alec said, pulling away from Magnus' embrace. "I'm so sorry. God, that was— I was tired, I didn't— That was selfish. Your job is important to you, I know that. None of that was your fault, Magnus, I—"
"Hush." Magnus lifted a finger over Alec's lips. "The vast majority of that was my fault, darling. My job is important to me, yes, but it's not as important to me as you."
Alec stared at him, frozen.
"I get caught up in my work. And sometimes, our jobs are going to get in the way of what we'd like to do. That happens to everyone. But I swear to you, I will try my very best to make more time. For you, for us, for this relationship."
"Magnus—"
"Don't argue with me," he said. "You're allowed to be upset when your boyfriend is abandoning you, Alec. I just wish you'd told me."
Alec sighed, and leant back into Magnus' arms. "I didn't want to be clingy. And I was overreacting." Upon seeing Magnus' expression, he amended. "I thought I was overreacting."
"Better," Magnus said, kissing him lightly. "I'm so sorry, Alexander."
"It's okay. Just- just promise me you'll try. This month has been busy, I know, but—"
"I promise. I promise I will try my absolute best to tell people to fuck off so I can come home to my boyfriend at a reasonable hour, and so I don't have to leave again when I do. And I promise that the next time I see Camille, I'll say something snide. Snide but classy, of course."
Alec chuckled. "As long as she stops doing that damn thing with her eyes, and invading your personal space, I don't think there'll be any problems."
"You do know that I would never, ever do anything, right?" Magnus asked, slightly worried. "With her, or with anyone else."
"I do." Alec smiled. "I trust you."
"Good. Also, I want you to know something."
"Oh?" Alec quirked an eyebrow at him. "What's that?"
"You, darling, are my priority. Not my job. Like I said, my job is important, but you're more important. Okay?"
"Okay." There was a light flush on Alec's cheeks, and, after so long, Magnus delighted in being able to garner that reaction. Abruptly, Alec frowned, looking over Magnus' shoulder. "Magnus, are you cooking?"
"Maybe."
Alec's eyebrows shot up. "You are. You're cooking lasagne. God, it smells good."
Magnus grinned at him. "Let's have that date night that we haven't had for far too long."
"We live together," Alec said, though he was smiling back. "Eating dinner doesn't count as a date night anymore."
"Psh. It's your favourite meal, you've just come home, I bought wine, and we're going to snuggle on the sofa and watch a movie. It's a date night."
Alec's smile widened. "A Netflix and chill kind of movie?"
Magnus dropped him a wink. "If you want to it be, I'm sure that can be arranged."
Alec's answering laugh rang beautifully in Magnus' ears.